Hell Break
by Storm0Wolf
Summary: Its forty degrees outside and thousands line up outside of stores around the world, waiting for the release of Hell Break, an Exorcist based MMORPG."Demons have been let loose, and its your job to knock their asses back in hell. Take up the challenge and use your skills to defeat them one by one." If only it was only demons they had to worry about.
1. Chapter 1

Tents lined the sidewalks of Paris, Miami, Mexico City, Tel Aviv, and Tokyo long before the sun peaked over the cities' horizon. Individuals sat, huddled up in thick layers, while clasping hot beverages in their hands. There was silence as the individuals waited for the moment the doors to the stores would open so they could rush in and claim the revolutionary MMOPG game, Hell Break. As the sun began to rise, people rushed around them, ignoring them as they shivered on the ground, too dedicated to their cause to move out of the way of foot traffic. In Sydney, a young girl huddled close to her dog, its large body and long hair producing more heat than the low sun.

She'd been there all night, her dark hair stiff and dull from the cold, lips chapped, and face numb. However, she refused to move from her spot as ninth in line, actually, she stretched her neck to see a bit further, eighth in line. It seems that the obnoxious couple that was fifth in line took off. Oh well, she smiled a bit, that only increased her chances of getting the game. Her dog shifted besides her, lifting his head up to sniff the air as a shadow fell over her. Resisting a sound of displeasure as the man blocked the warm sun, she looked up to see her stepfather looking down at her with worried eyes and Starbucks in his hands. Crouching down beside her, he patted her mutt on the head, and handed her the beverage, which she took eagerly.

"I can't believe how many people are willing to sit out here for a game." He mumbled as he tugged his jacket a bit further up towards his chin. He was hesitate to let his step daughter wait out for a game in this weather, but she was eighteen, and a legal adult.

"Its not just a game," She huffed, checking her watch as the final minutes ticked down. "Its Hell Break, and it's the only MMORPG game available for the Nerve Drive that allows you to play with people from other countries. Plus, if you log onto the game during the Opening Ceremony tomorrow, you get a rare item that will never be released again."

"This is a bit much for a rare item, sweetheart." He scratched his head, feeling a shift in the energy as people began to stand up, the noise getting louder and he was sure the energy was traveling down the line, all the way to the end almost three blocks away. The girl shot to her feet, her sudden movement startling her pet as a large smile spread across her face.

"They're opening the doors!"

The girl slammed the room door shut behind her, ripping off her gloves and hat. Glee filled her as she turned on her Nerve Gear and hooked up Hell Break, not even bothering to put the old game back into a case. Ignoring the lingering chill on her arms, she placed the nerve gear on her head and laid down, feeling her consciousness fall into the program. Ghostly yet exhilarating music played as she was dropped into the introduction. A grey haired women stood before her, stern and judgmental, yet all the girl could do was smile, her hands clasped to her chest.

"So you're the one, aye?" The NPC snorted, "I'd welcome you to our wonderful world, but it's anything but welcoming at the moment. Anyway, it was nice for them to send you to help us. Well, don't just stand there, what's your name?"

The girl didn't even need to think, she always used the same name, ever since she was fifteen. "I'm Diana Graceland."

"Diana Graceland," the women nodded her head, and four items proofed in front of Diana Graceland; a kunai, a scroll, a feather, and a compass. "Well than, Diana, before I can send you out into Sheetan, we need to teach you how to defend yourself. Now select one of these items to choose Exorcist Type."

As she reached for each item a description popped up above it, seems that there are four types she could choose from. The kunai was for Scepters, the wielders of magical weapons. She frowned, but it seems they had really low health, and she wasn't the type to fight head on anyway. Next was the scroll, representing Mystic Exorcist. This was the healing and magic group for this game, but it also had sub groups, but she ignored them; she never did like magic. Her hand hovered over the feather, she'd never seen a category like this in Nerve Gear before. It was a type that focused on using animal companions to aid one in battle, called Native. Honestly, Diana was sold the minute she read the first line, but continued to the compass out of curiosity. Ah, this was the combo group. It, the Cipher group, combined a little bit of the other groups into one.

Cipher sounded really appealing, however she'd be stuck with only one companion, and it would be a bird. A single bird, really? Lame. With that, Diana picked up the feather with a flourish, and the NPC lady nodded with a small smirk.

"You've chosen the feather, representing the Native Exorcist. These individuals tame and order creatures to fight with them, making it the perfect type for players who want to solo. Now, let's get your first out of the way," Six puffs of smoke appeared in front of the NPC; a brown puppy, a black kitten, a flying beta fish, a little grey bird, an oversized beetle, and a white ferret. "Go on, choose one, give it a name if you must."

With little hesitation, Diana scooped the puppy into her arms, it reminded her to much of her own mutt to be ignored. Giving it a name, she quickly skipped though the backstory and was teleported to an open area. A metallic fountain spewed blue liquid and a flock of white birds darted overhead. The puppy yipped in her hands as others started to pop up in the square with her, some with knives in their hands and others with scrolls. It was pretty obvious to who was what type of Exorcist. Turning on the cobble ground, Diana smiled at the clouds as they shifted into words.

Welcome to Hell Break.


	2. Welcome

The boar's eyes glowed a distinct red as white steam blew from its nose, it's hooves pounding the ground as it charged forward. Lifting his pistol and taking aim, Aaron's body jerked back slightly at the recoil, grinning as the boar shuddered and the demon extracted itself from the boar's body. The image was a translucent black, as the demon opened it's fanged mouth with green slime slipping between its teeth. A loud shot rang out as Aaron shot the demon's actual form, and the demon glowed yellow before shattering into golden light. The words 'demon exercised' hovered above the boar, before the usual stat increases listed themselves below.

Scanning the stat gains with brown eyes, Aaron smirked as the gained experience bumped him up a level. Now he just needed to level up once more before he could trade in this lame pistol in for something a bit more powerful. Glancing at the clock in his menu, he took off towards the main city, confident that he could level up once more before it was time to go to work. First, however, it was time for the opening ceremony, and he late. Frankly, he couldn't care less that he was supposed to meet two others almost six minutes ago in near the pub at the outer part of the courtyard. Blue birds soared above him as he slowed down, dodging the masses of people gathering around, narrowly avoiding stepping on someone's dog. Dang Natives letting their animals run amuck like that almost tripped him.

Feeling the weight of his pistol bounce against his leg, Aaron scanned the mob of players, automatically distinguishing their type. It was easy to tell since everyone was new and had the standard clothes of their type on, but even without that, Hell Break made it pretty easy to tell who belonged where. The Natives were easy, they always had an animal trailing after them. Scepters, like himself, usually had some type of weapons strapped in place, while Mystics had scrolls tucked away in side holsters. Although he had yet to see one, Aaron figured Cipher's would be people who didn't have any of these defining traits, or possibly all of them. Surprisingly, he had yet to meet a Cipher. The majority of people he met were Scepters or Natives, with Mystics being a minority and Ciphers almost like a highly endangered species.

"There you are, Patton, we've been waiting for you!" Snapping his head up at his screen name, Aaron, or Patton, gave a toothy grin to the dirty blond guy waving towards him. Reiss was a Scepter just like Aaron, however he preferred blade-based weapons. Squeezing between a group of Natives, Patton approached quickly, also waving to the guy slightly behind Reiss, Silva. Also a Scepter.

"Yeah, I was busy." Shrugging lightly, Patton readjusted his pistol, man he couldn't wait until he could get a damn riffle. Silva fidgeted a big, shifting his wooden spear into the other hand as the crowd closed in on them, squishing them together.

"You leveled again?" Reiss nodded to Patton with a smirk, "Nice, you're the same level as us now. Soon we can," Blaring music cut him off, the bass vibrating in their chests. The crowd went silent as the birds cleared the area, the stone buildings surrounding them were vacated as everyone tried to push forward to get a better look.

"Stop pushing me!" Patton turned back to glare at the older male shoving his back, putting his hand on his pistol. He might not be able to kill the guy in the safe zones, but it'd still hurt.

"Welcome Excorist, to Liturgia, the main city in Hell Break, and the beginning of your journey." The speaker blared overhead; Patton craned his neck to see above the crowd to see who was speaking, before giving up with an annoyed sigh, feeling sweat roll down his back.

"It's Madame Ledin," Silva's tall frame watched the show with interest, ignoring the shifting crowd. Huffing with annoyance, Patton checked the time on his menu again. Damn, they needed to hurry up or he was going to be late. Again.

"Who the hell is that?" Closing the menu, Patton continued to listen as the lady sprouted nonsense about the struggles they would face in their upcoming quest.

"She's the head of The White Council," Silva resisted a sigh when Patton glared at him questioningly, "Why does everyone skip the intro." He muttered under his breath, jerking forward as Reiss laughed loudly and slapped him on the back.

"Come on man, its not like they say anything important anyway." Reiss continued to laugh, ignoring Madame Ledin once again, much to Silva's dismay.

"Actually, there was actually some interesting stuff in the intro." The three boys snapped their heads to the left, a girl stood calmly beside them, her bright hazel eyes gazing coolly at them from the side. The ferret perched on her shoulder ignored their presence and sniffed the air.

"Who are you, and why should I care?" Patton smirked at her as her eyes widened a bit and her form stiffened, seems she wasn't as bold as she wanted to come off as.

"Call me Rain, that's Snow." The girl flipped a bit of her hair behind her shoulders, and motioned to her companion. "And anyway," She was cut off as an applause tore through the crowd, the ground shaking lightly. The four teens turned back to the stage, tuning back into the ceremony with reluctance. After some moving around, he could finally see the stage, and like Silva said, the stern looking NPC was talking.

"Now, I'm sure your curios as too the reward you were promised for lending your time to attend the ceremony." The excitement of the crowd rushed him, relaxing him as he waited to hear what sweet item he was going to get. Maybe a limited edition weapon, or maybe an amulet that makes it easier to level, or maybe…

"What the hell," A guy next to them swore, closing and opening his menu repeatedly, "I can't log off."

"What are you talking about," his friend leaned over, looking at the menu, "it's right," the man blinked, his finger hovering over an empty slot. "Huh, that's weird."

"I see some of you are trying to access the log off option," Madame Ledin smirked lightly, "rest assured, there is nothing to worry about, it is missing for a reason, this is not a glitch." There was a mummer though the crowd, and Patton felt uneasy as he moved back towards the others, glancing at their faces quickly. Silva was looking curiously at the darkening sky, Reiss was poking though his menu, and Rain's wide eyes were staring right back at him.

"Interesting," Silva hummed, ignoring the nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He didn't bother to check the log off situation, nothing he could do about it now. Glancing at the others, Silva switched his weight to his other foot.

"Now, for your reward." Black crawled though Madame Ledin's eyes, eliminating any trace of white as she smiled. Panic traveled though the crowd as people started yelling, pushing away from the center of the courtyard. "I would like to congratulate you all, as a reward for being the first individuals to play Hell Break, you would like to present you with the opportunity to be the first human beings to live inside the game as well." There was silence, before shouts and screams rolled though the crowd.

"The hell, what is going on?" Patton growled, trying to stop the trembling in his hand.

"This," Silva's eyes widened, "this is just like what happened to those people in Sword Art Online! We're trapped here?"

"What?" Rain squeaked, clutching Snow to her chest, "What do you mean stuck here?"

"Allow me to provide you with a tutorial." The NPC floated above them all, demons circling her lazily, "There is no more logging off, because there is no more game. This is now your reality, you belong to the game!" Children started crying, and Patton swallowed thickly. "You will not be released from the game until the final boss is defeated, and don't get any smart ideas. If anyone on the outside attempts to remove your Nerve Gear, you'll be fried until your puny brains are putty! However, we've already alerted authorities, and the public has been notified."

"No way," Reiss stuttered, "Why aren't they doing anything to get us out then? There is no way this is real."

"For those of you familiar with the Sword Art Online tragedy ten years ago, consider this its reboot. The rules are the same, if you die in here, you're body on the outside will also perish." Half of the players were crying at this point, "More information will appear in your guides, but for now, the ceremony is over. There is no way to leave this game without defeating the boss on the 100th level, good luck."

There was a moment of silence as the NPC burst into dark green flames, it blanketed the sky before fading away. The sky was blue and the birds returned, soft background music began to play in the silence. There was a scream and everyone started running, knocking each other over. Patton stumbled back, grabbing onto Rain he pulled her to the side, searching franticly from Silva or Reiss. Spotting them, he waved them over, and they pushed their way into one of the vacant buildings. A few NPCs milled around, but everyone real was outside.

Outside. He couldn't leave the game. Patton released his grip on Rain, hunching over as he resisted the bile rising in his throat. This wasn't real, he was dreaming. Aaron's mother was going to walk in at any moment now, shouting at him for being late to work.

A gentle hand rubbed his back, and Rain frowned slightly, her eyes puffy. She was very familiar with the SAO tragedy, her cousin was a victim, but they never talked about him much. If they were really stuck here, then things were going to go to hell, and she couldn't afford to break down.

"So," Silva swallowed thickly, "What happens now?" The door burst open and two others slammed the door behind them. Silva straightened up, body tense as he watched the two new comers carefully. One had black hair, a strip dyed a dark blue and carried scrolls on his side; the other also had black hair, but with multiple red streaks dyed throughout. Two Mystics it seemed.

"Oh," the second guy stared at them awkwardly, "sorry, we didn't think anyone would be in here. Things are going crazy out there." He straightened up and approached them without hesitation, his heeled boots clicking on the wooden floor. "I'm Robin, and this is Ash." He jerked his thumb back to the taller kid who was still leaning against the doorframe. The original four introduced themselves, and there was a silence. None of them really knew what to do at the moment.

" Reiss," Silva broke the silence, "we can't stay here forever."

"Yeah, I know." Reiss sighed, scratching his head as his eyes scrunched together. The situation was bad, they didn't know what was going on, and it was chaos outside. There were over one million people trapped in the game, and it wasn't unlikely that things would go to hell soon as the reality of the situation sunk in for some people. Getting away from the crowded center of Litergia was their best shot at safety.

"Look, I know we just met and all," Robin's face was painted with a frown, leaning against one of the wooden tables. "But you can come stay with me, I bought the Silver Addition so I have a decent sized castle to myself, we can stay together."

"Safety in numbers?" Reiss guessed, letting his hand ghost over his blade as Robin let out an uneasy laugh.

"Well yeah, but ya see, we could use the extra protection," Robin shrugged, "As Mystics we can exorcise demon's but we can't kill them, so its safer for us to travel with players who can actually kill. Plus it's a bonus for you to have two Mystics on your team."

"Team?" Patton raised an eyebrow, glancing around the room. They weren't a team, they were just friends. Although, he couldn't deny the advantage to having a team during this time, and living in a castle didn't sound to bad either.

"Yeah," Reiss nodded, "I know Silva's with me, so we'll join you, Robin. But I can't speak for Patton or Rain."

"I'll come with you," Rain blinked slowly, still in a daze, "You guys will need a Native." Everyone turned to look at Patton, who sighed dramatically.

"Sure, I'll team up with you noobs for now." Patton watched as a smile broke out over Robin's face.

"Nice to know you can still crack jokes at a time like this." Robin nodded, flipping open his pocket and pulling out a chain, on the end was a red house. "Anyway, let's get going." There was a hard rush of air, and the roof above them opened up to a dark orange sunset. Soft grass tickled their shoes as the dirt path materialized ten feet away. A rather simple, yet German castle towered above them.

"Wow," Rain felt Snow drop from her shoulder as they stepped inside, a glass chandelier throwing light throughout the foyer. Honestly, it reminded her of something out of one of the old school Disney princess movies her grandmother always tried to make her watch. Sadness washed over her again as she thought of her family. What was happening out there? Was she in the hospital like her cousin was all those years ago, hooked up to an I.V while her family sat by her bed crying?

"Yeah, its great. Now I'm really glad I spent the extra money. Let me show you around." Heading up the stairs, Rain walked beside Ash. He didn't say anything at all to her, in fact the only time he acknowledged her presence was to hold the door open for her. The castle was just as beautiful inside, and it came fully furnished, so they wouldn't have to scrounge for furniture. One less thing to worry about. After the tour the group retired to their rooms, everyone having to share except for her and Robin. They even allowed her to take control of the shed outside, saying she'd need it when she gathered more companions. Silva and Reiss opted to room together, leaving Ash with Patton. Robin got his own room since he bought the place, and Rain, being the only female, also got her own room.

Watching Snow curl up on her pillow, Rain didn't bother to change clothes, seeing as she had none. Tomorrow would be for shopping, both for clothes and food. If they were going to be here for a while, they'd have to eat. Rolling onto her side, Rain glanced out the window. The stunning lake outback glittered as the moonlight hit it, the wind blowing the water lightly. She had to constantly remind herself that this was all just virtual, none of it was real, it was just a beautiful prison.

However, that didn't mean she had to be miserable. Honestly, Rain really thought she lucked out. She'd met some incredible people to team up with. All of them were avid gamers like her, and they all seemed nice enough. Sure Patton could be a bit of an ass at times, but he meant it all in good fun. Silva and Reiss were great; Silva was a bit quirky when you could get him going and he was really smart too. Reiss was just a really friendly guy, she couldn't say a mean thing about him, other than he could be a bit of a goof at times, but he really did have a good heart. Ash, however, was really quiet; he didn't really talk much, and seemed really serious. Robin was a real character, always cracking jokes, so he and Reiss got along real well.

Yeah, she'd really lucked out with this bunch, but still, she sat up in her bed, careful not to shake the frame too much or risk waking up snow. Her bare feet patted against the cool polished floor as she approached her door, glancing out into the long hallway before leaving her door cracked behind her. Rain knew that it took a lot more than personality to make it through games like this. It took skill and determination, and a lot of luck. Opening a large door, she found herself outside on a patio like feature. The cold air brushed against her face, and her feet stung against the cold stone. Hills stretched out in front of her, and she leaned against the decorative railing. Who knew how long it would be until she saw her family again. Her poor mother, to watch her nephew suffer though this virtual hell only to then have her daughter snatched away in the same manner.

It was for that reason she couldn't die here, Rain's fingernails dug into her palms, she'd make it out of here. And she wasn't going to just let someone do the work and hope that eventually someone would let her out. No, she'd do it herself. She'd save herself from this hell, they all would. She doubted any of them were the type to sit around and let someone else save them. They were gamers, in this world, they were kings and queens, and they were unstoppable. Rain would become the strongest Native there was, and she'd save herself, and the others too. Together, they'd break out of this hell.

* * *

><p>AN:

SYOC wise, the Main characters have all been selected and introduced in this chapter, so if your character appeared in this chapter, congratulations, they were selected. Now, below is a list of minor characters:

Thomas Jimenez

Miya Martinez

Tomasu Sakubaru

Shiki Toramizu

Ren Kita

However, don't let the word minor fool you. Minor just means they won't be heavily developed, but they'll still play a vital part in the story line. Now, I'm still accepting minor characters, and will do so for another two chapters. So if you want to create another go ahead.

**Fun Fact: The Hell Break Servers are currently hosting over 1 million players. Of those players it is estimated that 500,000 are Scepters, 300,000 are Natives, 150,000 are Mystics, and roughly 50,000 are Ciphers.**


	3. To be a Clan

**Dear citizens of the World,**

**Today is December 7th, and now time for your weekly update on the progress being made, in game. Before we get to that, I'd like to remind you that there are very strict rules about removing the NerveGear of our players, we've unfortunately already had to eliminate a few dozen players because their families broke the rules. Also, don't forget that today the sale for in game equipment will end and return to regular prices. So take advantage now and buy an early Holiday present for your loved ones, any advantage can be useful! Now onto the stats!It seems we've lost a staggering 95,000 players already, with most of the losses being in the Mystic and Cipher types. Its going to be so exciting to see how that effects the game from here one out!**

**Floors Cleared: One Through Five**

**Population:**

**Mystics - 100,000**

**Scepters - 490,000**

**Natives - 285,000**

**Ciphers - 30,000**

**That's all for now! We'll see you again next week!**

**Game on!**

**From the Creators and Game master of Hell Break.**

* * *

><p>Reiss was going to murder Patton. Stepping back, Reiss managed to dodge the blade as he brought up one of his own daggers. The beast cried out, its high pitched voice gating against Reiss' eardrum as he sliced the arm off. Hitting the ground with a thud, the fingers twitched, still holding the blade tightly. From its amputated arm, a red haze curled upwards, forming a face. There, that was the demon! The gravel under his feet shifted as he lunged forward, messy blond hair falling into his face as he jumped up, brining his daggers down on the head of the beast as he fell. Rolling a bit away, Reiss grinned as the being shuttered before bursting into millions of red cubes and the standard congratulatory message popped up.<p>

However, looking around Reiss felt the grin fall from his face, Patton still wasn't here. The group was supposed to meet here almost an hour ago to take on a multiplayer quest, but Patton still hadn't shown his smug face, and they were halfway through.

Ignoring the stats in front of him, Reiss sheathed his blades as he returned to stand with the group. Licking his lips as the sun barred down on them, Ash muttered under his breath and pressed his hand to Rain's leg, feeling the bloody gash close under his fingers. A stray cloud shielded them as her breathing slowed, health bar rising steadily. Supporting her weight, Silva helped her to her feet, carefully watching her as she wobbled for a moment.

"I'm good," Groaning, Rain stretched her leg slightly, feeling Snow nuzzle her neck and Flare nudge apologetically at her hand. He'd missed the signal, leaving her open for a counter attack, with the enemy gleefully took. Still, Rain only smiled at him, petting a patch of dark red fur at the base of his ears. Flare may be her little trickster, but he'd never purposely do anything to hurt her, well not since she unlocked him anyway. The dark red fox appeared in her menu almost two floors ago, and even though they'd successfully made it to the sixth floor, he wasn't fully trained.

"You should take it easy Rain," Ash retired his ponytail, feeling the damp strands between his fingers, "Maybe it was too early to try and use Flare, he's not even past the teen stage yet."

"I agree," Robin's deep voice joined in, "Just use Snow for the remainder of he mission, you can use Flare next time." He didn't want to risk another injury because of an avoidable mistake, Rain may have only gotten a scratch this time, but who know, next time it might be her head. Dread overcame him as he thought about the last week in Hell Break. Like any other game, the first few levels were easy, and they, plus two other clans, managed to blaze thought he first two levels within hours of each other. However, at the third level, a possessed giant wiped out one clan entirely, and left everyone else on the verge of death. It was pure genius that Rain insisted on the Mystics staying back, and when the battle ended as everyone lay weak on the ground, the Mystics still had full power. Ash, Robin, and another Mystic were able to save everyone.

However, even though a little less than a third of the original fighters walked out of the cave, the survivors, excluding Robin's clan, all returned to the first level, too traumatized to continue on. The cloud above them moved on, exposing them to the scorching sun. In that time, the group trained, getting ready to fight the boss on the fourth floor on their own. So many gamers gave up and stayed on the first floor, but even more were killed during battle. There weren't any official numbers, but it was estimated that over 95,000 people died on the first three levels alone. In any game he'd ever played, Robin didn't have trouble until at least the tenth level, and yet they'd lost over a tenth of the population on the easiest sections.

"Robin!" Silva snapped his fingers in front of the Japanese teen's face, making Robin jerk slightly, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Robin blinked, "Yes, I'm ok, just thinking."

"Think later," Sighing, Ash wiped his hands on his pants, motioning for the group to move forward, "This mission's got a time limit remember." Rain hesitantly pulled Flare back into the menu, she really wanted to give him another chance but the others were right. He was too wild to use for this mission, and they had a lot of work to do.

"So when we complete this mission, I should be able to unlock my second weapon, if the guide is accurate." Reiss patted the daggers swinging on his hips, feeling the rough leather sheath under his palm. He loved his daggers and all, but he need a weapon with a bit more power behind it. The new demons weren't going down as easily as the hogs on the first level.

"Of course they're accurate, the Cursed Card Clan assembled it." Patton skid to a stop at Reiss' side, panting lightly. Silva turned to glare at him lightly, not bothering to verbally scold the Scepter because Patton wouldn't give a damn that he inconvenienced them.

"Ugh," Rain glared down at the ground, shoving her hands in her pockets, "Let's not talk about them!" Feeling an arm slip around her shoulder, Snow moved down to her arms, as Patton laughed in her ear.

"Don't be like that Drizzle, they're not all that bad!" Patton released the girl with a grunt as she elbowed his side, putting Snow back onto his proper place on her shoulder.

"I just don't like how they think they're better than everyone else,"

"They kind of are," Ash interrupted her lightly.

"No they're not!" Rain sighed, "Just because they beat levels three through five, doesn't make them amazing. We beat levels one through three and you don't see people flocking to become our minions."

"As much as I hate to say it Rain, we may have cleared the first three levels, but we enlisted the help of other clans. However the Suite 4 of the Cursed Card Clan beat the next two levels on their own with no casualties. That alone proves their skill." Silva didn't look back as he spoke, keeping his gaze to the sky.

Staying silent, Rain looked around the dessert like area, squinting her eyes. They should be coming up on the location of the final boss soon, and they couldn't afford to miss it.

"Lets forget about them guys," Reiss swallowed, this throat felt thick, "We need to figure out what we're going to do against the boss." Ash retrieved his guide from him menu, the dark green paperback was heavy in his hands as he flipped through the pages.

"It doesn't look like anyone's completed this mission before, I found the name, but no information on the actual contents on the quest." Snapping the book closed, he replaced the book, "It looks like we're the first ones. We'll have to make a guide for other players and submit it later." It was an unofficial rule of Hell Break. With the danger of death constantly gripping at them, players made a point to provide information freely to all, in the hopes of preventing more death. Although Ash wasn't particularly fond of the Cursed Card Clan himself, even he had to acknowledge the efficiency with which they spread information through the servers.

"Cool," Reiss laughed, "It'll be our first entry."

"If you're so excited about it, you can write it." Rain laughed as the wind snatched at her hair, throwing it behind her. "There's the lair of the final boss."

"Alright," Silva nodded, running his fingers though dark brown hair, "We should have Snow scout out the area before we rush in. Once we finally face the boss however, Rain should pull back and deal with the minions, Robin and Patton can assist her." There was a resonating whine from Patton, he hated having to deal with the small fry but Silva couldn't care less. If he wanted the big boss, he should have shown up on time. "Then the rest of us will head in for the boss."

"Even me?" Ash usually hung back in the reserves, keeping his energy high until he was needed to heal.

"Especially you, we need you to level, you're almost two levels behind everyone else." Besides, they'd need a mystic assisting them with the big boss. Usually Silva preferred having a Mystic with the group dealing with the minions and the groups dealing with the boss, that way everyone was covered. Typically though Robin would support the boss team, but lately Silva noticed a change in him. He wasn't as confident, he hesitated at crucial times, so today Silva wanted to try out using Ash for the boss team to see if he could handle the pressure. That's why he put Patton with Rain. Usually, Rain could handle the minions herself, but just in case Robin did hesitate, Patton would be right there to have her back. The two may not appear to get along well, but Silva could see that Patton did care for the team, and would step in to defend them if needed.

The sun disappeared as they stepped into a dank darkness, the hair on their skin rising from the sudden temperature change. Echoing against the walls, their shallow breaths and soft steps travels miles down the labyrinth like tunnel. Softly whispering into his ear, Rain placed Snow on the ground, watching with restrained worry as he scampered off ahead of them. The group continued to walk at a leisurely pace, despite the stiffness in their legs. Silva swallowed a lump in his throat, feeling the weight of his spear against his shoulder blade. Every battle was like this, adrenaline coursing as they walked towards their potential death. Although they're little group didn't have an official leader, Silva typically made the battle formations, so the pressure to return without any casualties weighted heavily on his shoulders.

His back tensed as they came to an imposing wooden door, two candles flickering on each side, giving just a taste of heat.

"Rain, where's Snow," Ash ran his finger against the door, feeling the grimy rust on the pads of his fingers. Closing her eyes, Rain tilted her head forward.

"He's inside already, it seems that companions don't trip the start command for boss battles." Opening her eyes, Rain brought up her menu, calling Snow back into the bag before popping him back out right in front of her. "He says there's nothing suspicious inside, its just an empty room for now."

"We'll have to make a note of that in the report." Reiss pulled his daggers from their sheath, nodding to everyone once before pushing the door open. The high ceiling glowed pink as they rushed inside, staying close together as the door locked behind them. There was a click as Patton shoved a magazine into his gun.

"What!" A high pitch voice bellowed, a shadow materializing from the ground, it was a young women, her eyes spun red, indicating she was possessed by a mid level demon "So you've come to rescue the young maiden, huh? Well let's see you try to get her back alive!"

"Alive?" Ash muttered, watching as four minor minions filled the room, their grotesque fasces and arched backs made for a nauseating sight. Damn, Patton should have asked for the details of the mission before they got inside.

"Don't worry about it we got it," Rain lunged forward, pulling a standard Native knife from her pocket as Snow darted between two of the minors feet, avoiding the sluggish swipes of the large monsters. One howled as three bullets tore though its flesh, before bursting into red cubes, Patton smirking as he leapt out of the way of the minion's swipe. Running forward, Rain threw herself on the ground, sliding on her back under the legs of one demon as Snow leapt up and tore a chunk of the demon's hand out with his teeth. Leaping up she spun on her heel, burying her knife into the demon's back before it burst into cubes under her weapon.

"Hafrat Akhdar!" The earth rumbled before opening up, one minion toppled down into a pit as Robin recited the incantation for an earth spell. He'd have to wait for either Rain or Patton to finish it.

The possessed women flipped back, firing yellow balls of Cosmic energy at the boss group.

"Aadiid min Diraa" Slamming his hands together, Ash felt his energy drain a bit as a large transparent shield materialized in front of everyone, the cosmic attacks bouncing off harmlessly. "Go on, I'll protect you from back here!" As a Mystic with Ancient Magic, Ash was more efficient as a long range offense anyway, including his defensive abilities. The others rushed forward, running in circles around the demon, their feet squeaking against the polished floor.

Without stopping, Silva hurled his spear, it sung as it flew through the air, imbedding itself in the girl's shoulder. The goal was only to exercise the demon and kill it without killing the girl. Usually it was easier to kill both, and didn't have any consequences, so they weren't used to keeping the victim alive. The girl screamed, two voices coming from her lips as the demon slinked out of her body. She fell with a heavy thud as the demon detached itself and lunged towards Reiss. Stopping in his tracks he crossed is a dagger in front of him, grunting as the demon sent him flying back. Damn the thing was strong; he slid to a stop a few feet away, feeling a bit of his health sap away. The demon swept towards him again, but this time he dropped to his stomach, letting it pass over him before jumping back up and slicing it when it turned around. The demon jerked, but didn't die, changing its course it charged towards Ash.

"Khatam!" Ash didn't flinch as the demon brought its hand up to swipe at him, dodging the attack, he pressed two fingers to the demons chest, leaving ancient letters on its skin. The letters glowed a dark gold, before the demon was sucked into itself and burst into little red cubes.

"Hell yeah!" Reiss pumped his fist into the air as he glowed, leveling up, watching as his stats improved a new weapon was added to his inventory. He'd wait till they returned home to check it out. Ash and Rain glowed with improvement as well, while Ash received a special item for killing the boss. It wasn't anything significant, just another useless piece of furniture, he hated when that happened.

"Nice kill, Ash." Rain smiled as she held Snow. Ash didn't get much opportunity to shine, and it was nice to see him hold his ground like that. He simply returned her smile with a small version of his own and nodded, not saying anything.

"That wasn't as hard as I thought," Robin rotated his arm slowly, "You guys ready to go home, we still have to do a report on this and send it to the Cursed Card Clan to be added to the guide."

"Ugh, if I write it will someone else take it?" Rain felt light as they were transported back home. The temperature was always perfect at the castle, pulling up her menu, she released Flare, allowing him to scamper through the grass.

"Sure thing Drizzle, I've been wanting to see the Scepter of the Suite Four for myself anyways, everyone says he's the best in the game, but I doubt he can compare to me!" Patton marched off ahead, Reiss and Silva following him with a shake of their head. He wasn't intimidated by those Cursed Card bastards like the rest of his team seemed to be, neither was he drooling over them like the rest of the population.

The leader and founder, Mystaria, was nicknamed Soulbinder from what the rumors told him. Despite his constant attitude, Patton wasn't wasting his time whenever he was late. Usually he was meeting with the members of the Dragon Hearth clan. They weren't the strongest group in the world, but their leader, Scepter named Panda, was just as familiar with guns as Patton. He was fun to talk too, and always had loads of information. Also, their team had one of the rare Ciphers, her name was Pheonix, and she was on the lower age range of the players in the game. She was also a brat. But he put up with her, because she always had a ton of money, seems her parents kept the flow strong in the real world to make sure she lived a comfy life here.

Turns out, as the hostages of Hell Break came to realize in time, the outside world really did know what was happening in here. There wasn't any word yet, but it seems friends and family on the outside were buying packages to send to the people on the inside. It disgusted Patton, the bastards that locked them in here were taking advantage of the grief and anger of his loved ones. People on the outside would spend real money for virtual supplies for those stuck in the game.

Rain almost cried when a package arrived for her with dark red fingerless gloves, boosting her defense and healing speed. It must have cost her parents a fortune. After all, if Silva was correct, these guys could charge all kinds of crazy prices, because families would spend anything in order to provide their loved ones with a chance to make it out. Patton himself received, a matching set of black gloves and combat boots intended to boost his attack and resistance to Elemental magic.

There was a steady knock on his door, before Rain pushed her way inside, eyes slightly red from fatigue.

"Here's the scroll with the information, you can take it now." She watched him tie up his boots before lazily taking the scroll from her hands. "Don't get into any trouble."

"If I do, I'll just call you!" Patton smirked at her and she watched as he glowed before being transported to Liturgia, the main city on the first level. The majority of players who lost hope settled here, making lives for themselves. Walking past the cobblestone courtyard that symbolized the beginning of this nightmare, Patton headed towards the Point, a building solely used by clans. On the first floor, individuals applied to be a member of a clan, so anyone looking for new members usually had a representative down there. In the corner he could see a small crowd of hopefuls gathering around a member of the Cursed Card Clan, the two of Hearts stitched into the shoulder of his orange jacket. Continuing onto the second floor, he noticed individuals from different clans mingling, setting up alliances. This is where they found the original two clans that helped them clear the first three levels, it was perfect for networking too. Finally he arrived on the last floor. Lining the walls were doors, each painted with the insignia of the clan that owned it. Behind each door was the headquarters of the represented clan.

Although their group was relatively known for clearing the first three floors, they weren't considered an official clan until they picked a name and a leader. His footsteps were heavy as he walked down the hall, stopping in front of a door with a deck of cards, he pressed his hand to the door, waiting for an answer.

"Hello?" The voice was flat, almost like a recording.

"Open up, my name's Patton, I've got information to deliver about the Fair Lady quest on the sixth floor." Rolling his eyes at the slow response, Patton bit back a smart remark as the door opened to reveal a kid about his age. His brown eyes were perfectly neutral as he held open the door.

"This way, Patton. I will direct you to my leader." The body turned mechanically, walking into the massive white hall with ease. Patton whistled sharply, the place was amazing. The high ceiling and gold trim made the place seem almost heavenly; artwork lined the walls as wooden doors littered the hallway here and there.

"Nice place, um, who the hell are you again?" Patton heard his steps echo a bit, but the boy didn't turn around to see him.

"I am called Renki, or the Jack of Clubs. I am the personal assistant to Mysteria, leader of the Cursed Cards." A monkey popped out of his trench goat, its golden fur matching the castle trimming perfectly. "This is Wukong."

So the dude was a Native, figures, they were all weird. AT last they came to the end of the hall, large arching double doors towering over them, but Renki pushed them open with ease. On the marble floor was a dark yellow satin carpet, leading up to an imposing ivory throne with yellow cushions. In the seat sat a female, legs crossed with her hands resting lightly on the arm rests as her dark grey eyes gazed at the newcomers, raising an eye brow at him. Her dark black hair clashed beautifully with the room around her, and Patton almost felt lost for words. Not at her beauty, he was far to smooth for that, but because he was expecting someone a bit more, well, intimidating to rule over the Cursed Card Clan.

"Who's this, Renki?" Her voice echoed slightly, the guards at the base of her throne moved aside to let Renki in. "I thought I made it clear I wasn't taking visitors until the Suite Four returned."

So far, that was in line with what Panda told him. Mysteria may be the leader, but the Suite Four were the power behind the throne. It was rumored that the Suite Four put Mysteria in charge because of her cunning wit and charisma, she'd be able to drive the Cursed Card Clan to new heights that would help them get through the game with as few casualties as possible. And she did. She improved them in everyway, the guide was even her creation to help people outside of the clan. However, she didn't command the Suite Four, they were more like partners. Yet no one knew, the actual extent of Mysteria's power, which made her dangerous.

"I can hear you," Patton interrupted, pulling the scroll from his bag, "And don't get your panties in a twist, girly, I just came to drop off this information about a quest." He threw the scroll onto the floor at her feet and turned his back on her, ignoring the wave of anger that clawed at his back.

"Who do you think you are, kid?" One guard yelled, stepping forward, but Mysteria stopped him with a lazy flick of her wrist.

"I'm Patton," He called back gleefully, glad to get his name out there a bit more.

"Patton," Mysteria walked down from her chair, "You're part of the clan that cleared the first three levels. Impressive to see that your team is still contributing to the success of the population." Plucking the scroll from the floor she handed it to the guard who spoke out, and he bowed before rushing away.

"We're not a clan, for the last damn time."

"Just because you don't give yourselves a name or declare a leader does not exclude you from the classification of a clan. You are a team that fights together and is loyal to one another, and therefore a clan." She paused, "And from what I can tell, your members are strong. If you're so adamant about not being a clan, then the Cursed Cards will always have a place for members such as yourselves. If not, then an alliance would benefit us both."

"Oh yeah," Patton scoffed, turning around to face her. She was shorter than he imagined too, "Well no thanks, you don't have shit to offer us, girly."

"Hm, I wonder about that." Mysteria dropped the conversation, there were more important matters to tend to at the moment, and she was sure they would meet again. Patton pressed his palm to his crystal without another word, feeling light as he returned home. Walking into the kitchen he grabbed some water and sat down, propping his feet up on the table.

There was a beam of light in the sky and the sound of bells as Ash and Silva hurried into the room, peaking out the tall window. They probably couldn't see it from their rooms.

"Already, huh?" Ash sighed, but couldn't help but smile. Even if they weren't the ones to defeat the final boss, it was always a reason to celebrate when a floor was cleared. The Cursed Card Clan wasn't playing around. "They sure do move fast."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **

**Forgot to mention that updates are on Sundays. Also Mysteria is not one of my OC for the record, she was a submission**.

Contest: What do you think the kids should call their clan? I'd love some ideas.


	4. Why?

Silva dropped thirty smooth silver coins into the shop merchant's hand, the girl frowned at the measly amount but handed him the merchandise without complaint. She's have to sell a lot more potions if she wanted to open another shop on the ninth level.

Maneuvering around the group behind him, Silva walked out of the store, the morning sun hitting his eyes. NPCs and players alike milled around, two boys, twins no older than fifteen, haggled for new armor with a tan older woman. Glancing at them in disgust, her waved them away, the husky at her side barking. Adjusting his own upgraded armor, Silva navigated towards the local library, checking the time on his menu. The dirt roads shifted under his feet, leaving dust clouds as the wind grazed the bottom of his boots. Sheron was Silva's least favorite city, with its tan buildings, itchy bright green grass, and dusty roads that made him cough whenever someone ran by.

Adjusting his glasses, he pushed open the thin bright orange flap, crossing the threshold into the library. Glancing around the minimally decorated area, he continued forward, a pair of twins splitting to go around him. Tables were scattered between the shelves, a NPC animatedly mourned the loss of one of her books to a couple of kids. Most likely looking for an easy quest.

"Yo," Turning around slowly, Silva blinked at the smiling teen with dyed half black, half white hair. "Are you Reiss?"

"Nope, I'm Silva, I'm a friend of his. He couldn't make it." Lie. Reiss could totally make it, but he was too busy playing with his new riffle.

"I'm Panda, leader of the Dragon Hearth Clan," he grabbed onto Silva's sleeve, much to his discomfort, and pulled him towards an occupied table in the back. Their conversation died down as they stared at the newcomers curiously, Silva bit back a sound of discomfort when he was forced into a chair. "Reiss couldn't make it, so this is Silva."

"Hey," Glancing around, Silva knew most of the people at the table. To his left was Aiza, the leader of the Black Lotus Clan, and one of the only Ciphers Silva has ever met. Her clan was relatively small, no more than ten people last time he checked their standings on the Clan Counter. They were ranked in the three hundreds, definitely not the strongest clan. In fact, Silva tuned out their small talk, the Dragon Hearth Clan was ranked in the three hundreds as well. The older guy directly across from him was almost thirty, and the second in command of the East Wing Clan. The leader didn't come out in public much, but the clan itself was pretty decent, ranked in the top hundreds.

"…on a name?" Silva blinked as everyone stared at him, resisting the urge to twitch uncomfortably from the attention. Coughing into his hand, Silva asked Aiza to repeat the question, feeling a draft.

"I said," a frown started over her face, she couldn't stand repeating herself, "Since have you guys have decided to make your clan official, have you decided on a name? Or colors, hell have you guys decided on anything?"

"We haven't gone to the Clan Counter yet, but everything's decided," Ignoring Aiza's rude attitude, Silva leaned back in his chair, the stiff wood digging into his back. "I will be leader, and Reiss will be my second in command. Our colors will be dark green and light blue."

"What about your name and symbol?" the older man, Raphael, stared at Silva with hard brown eyes, occasionally glancing at Panda.

"We just kind of took the name everyone already called us, its easier that way."

"The Blood Knight Clan, huh? Not too bad."

"None of use could come up with anything better, and no one outside of Patton really cared anyway." Silva frowned at the discussion; this wasn't what he wanted to focus on right now. "So, the boss..."

"Right, right," Panda waved his hand over his menu, a holographic map materialized on the desk. "So this is where the lair is, I got the location from a reliable guy on the third level. I'm pretty sure Patton knows him, so if you don't believe me," Silva cut him off.

"I believe you, I believe you." But Panda was giving him a headache, the guy talked way to loud for Silva's liking. "Got anything on his stats?"

"That's actually what we were talking about before you fucking showed up and took us off the subject," Aiza muttered, giving him a repulsed glare. Resisting the childish urge to stick his tongue out at her, or mention how the pitch of her voice reminded her of the mice in Cinderella, Sivla waited for her to continue. "What I was saying, is that we should just call this off right now."

"What the hell Aiza?" Raphael frowned, the lines in his face deepening.

"Oh shut the fuck up you old bastard!" Aiza crossed her arms over her chest, forcing eye contact with Silva, "We can't be the damn thing, what about that is to hard for you shitty brains to understand?" Pressing her own menu, Panda's map was replaced with her holographic image. A half spider, half bird beast hovered above the table. "This is the boss of level ninth level, he's got Scepter and Native immunity, so the other guys who have gone up against him were slaughtered."

"Other?" Silva wasn't aware that other people had already attempted to beat the level. Man, they went up against this thing and it deflected all their attacks, Silva grit his teeth, no wonder Aiza was pissed. "What about Mystics and Ciphers? We could use them to attack and have Scepters and Natives defend..."

"Would you let me finish," Silva resisted the urge to snap at her irritating attitude, but let her go on "Don't you think somebody already tired that, stupid? They did, and it didn't work! Plus, the place only lets in four people at a time so there isn't enough space to have defensive players."

"Damn," Panda sighed, "That's gonna be difficult."

"Ciphers and Mystics only," Raphael whistled, "No way we can beat that. I don't even have any Ciphers." He glanced at Aiza, "You can't be the only Cipher going, they Mystics' attacks aren't strong enough to rely on for first line combat."

"See," Aiza scoffed, flipping her braid over her shoulder "It's hopeless,"

Silva watched them bicker for a few moments. Even Reiss wouldn't find something positive about this situation. Someone coughed behind him, it was painfully fake. Turning in his chair, Silva stared down the newcomer with genuine curiosity.

Her dark, wild curly hair brushed against the fabric of her cloak as she took a step forward, the spade on her shoulder wrinkling slightly. Tensing, Silva forced his face to remain blank. Members of the Cursed Card Clan didn't attack other players, but it was unheard of for them to approach outsiders. After weeks of living in Hell Break, Silva's was always on edge, always waiting for something to pop out.

"The fuck do you want?" Unfazed by the girl's presence, Aiza slammed her hands on the table, drawing the attention of others in the building. The girl tilted her head down in a half assed attempt to hide her smirk.

"Apple pie would be nice." Aiza blinked in confusion, before an ugly snarl overtook her face, but Panda cut her off before she could continue.

"What she meant to say, was who are you, and what do you need from us?" Very specific questions to prevent her from beating around the bush. Panda was a nice guy, but a bit paranoid when it came to safety. He was similar to Ash in regards of his protective nature, however, Silva was used to Ash being a mother hen about their injuries. It felt weird coming from someone else.

Picking up on the atmosphere, the girl tugged at her hair a bit, her dark brown hand covered in fingerless mesh gloves, Silva wasn't familiar with its abilities. "I am Nala Mercy of the Suite Four." Huh, so that was her game. Silva had heard of Nala Mercy, everyone knew the names of the members of the Suite Four.

"Oh you're from the Cursed Cunts?" Aiza's eyes went wide and she clapped her hands together in fake enthusiasm, "Well of course that makes you important enough to interrupt our conversation, please Nelon, however could we assist you?"

Silence.

"You're a bitch." Nala laughed a bit at the last word, not at all intimidated by Aiza's hostile attitude. "Thank god I'm not here for you." Her eyes trailed around the table, Silva felt a small shiver in his spine when she landed on him. "You Reiss?"

"How'd you know Reiss was going to be here?" Silva ignored the question, pushing out of his chair to stand before her. The Cursed Cards had spies everywhere, at least that's what Patton said, it was a bit unsettling to think they had spies on them too.

"A little birdie told me," She wasn't going to tell him anything, it would be pointless to push her anymore. Ciphers were known for being rather stubborn. "So you're not Reiss then?"

"No, I'm Silva of the Blood Knights. I can get a message to him if you want." Silva knew that wasn't what she wanted, it was a strange feeling in his gut. This was a game of wits, she was beating around the bush, Silva had to draw it out of her without being too obvious.

"Of the Blood Knights, huh? So you guys finally made it official?" She dodged the previous topic, moving the conversation towards something that was, in Silva's mind, trivial. He noticed the others hadn't said anything for some time, but pressed forward anyway.

"In the process. Actually I have to," Ah, there, Aiza cut him off.

"Oh would you two just stop with the games and tell us what the hell you want?" Silva could always count on Aiza to take the blunt approach.

"This bitch," Nala muttered under her breath, before looking to Silva then Rapheal, "I know you guys are planning a strike on the boss. I'm going with y'all."

Silva blinked slowly, that was unexpected.

"Why?" Rapheal calmly stood up as well and stood next to Silva, "What about your Suite Four pals?"

"Beast and Seung can't do any damage since its got Native and Scepter immunity, and Leo's Cosmic magic won't do any good as a front line offense. So, that makes me the only one who's able to do any damage." That's right, she was a Cipher. If he remembered right, Leo was the Mystic, Seung was the Scepter, and Beast was the Native. They were all highly capable from what he knew, and each commanded small army of their own type, such as Nala being in charge of the Spade unit, or the Ciphers.

"Why not just take people from the Spade unit?" Silva wasn't so sure what her aim was. Nala had a group of Ciphers she was familiar with, why would she want to tag along with them? "I'm sure the Cursed Cards have more than enough Ciphers and Mystics to get through this level without us."

"Ha, funny thing about that actually," Nala smiled in a way that said it was not funny at all, "We had a fall out with the Cursed Cards, we're not actually with them anymore." She shrugged, throwing her eyes over her shoulder to look at the door. "Look, either way, you guys need another Cipher in order to beat the boss, so how about it?"

"Oh no," Aiza started, but Rapheal slammed his fist on the table, a girl on the other side of the building jumped.

"Girl, would you shut up!" They glared at each other, before Panda sighed. No doubt, he was thinking about the advantages of having someone like Nala fight with them, Silva was doing the exact same thing. The Suite Four cleared the majority of the levels so far, no doubt she's a strong player. At the same time, they split from the Cursed Cards for reasons unknown. Players didn't kill other players, it was an unspoken rule, but one still had to be careful of who one fought with. Being familiar with their fighting style and weaknesses could prevent problems in the middle of battle.

Nala shifted her weight slightly onto her left, leaning slightly away from them, "Well I can see you need time to think it over, but if you need me, just knock!" Her cape dramatically fluttered around her as she quickly took her exit.

They stood at the entrance of the cave, four circular pods sat mockingly empty at the door. Patton grumbled as Ash and Robin performed last minute checks on their inventory, muttering spells under their breath just to be sure they were memorized fully. Silva wasn't completely sure what Rain was doing as she whispered to Nala, but wasn't to concerned with it. The two proved to be fast friends upon realizing they were the only females in their respective Clans. However, it was clear Aiza didn't share that sentiment, standing far away from the two females, seems she still didn't like Nala for whatever reason. He never got girls.

"Nala, didn't anyone come to see you off?" Ash wasn't trying to be rude, but everyone from the Blood Knights and Black Lotus Clans showed up to see off the few members that were going in to battle, but she had no one.

"Nah," Nala snorted, "They said goodbye last night, the lazy butts couldn't be bothered to get up early." In reality, she was saying that her team wasn't worried about her enough to give her a proper goodbye. That was comforting in that they trusted her skills that much, however, it also terrified Silva, it could also mean they didn't give a damn whether she lived or died.

"Alright, are we ready?" Ash swallowed thickly as he took a step towards the pods, his feet felt heavy with each step. There was a pressure in his chest that pressed on his lungs, forcing him to become conscious of his breathing.

"As I'll ever be," Robin sighed, going to Ash's side as Patton gave them a solemn nod in place of a goodbye.

"Oh god, would you guys stop being so dramatic, it's fucking annoying." Ruining the mood as always, Aiza slapped her second in command on the back, giving him a firm order not to fuck shit up while she was gone, before marching to her pod. Lazily waving her hand in farewell, Nala pulled up her menu one last time before stepping into her pod.

"Kick his ass for me!" Patton shouted with a dry laugh, and with a beam of white light they were gone. There was nothing to do now, but to sit and wait.

The room was light purple, like a Saturday night rave. Robin could taste the rottenly thick air in his mouth; it was like someone just got out of a shower with hot sewage water.

"Dear god, did the smell kill those guys or the monster." Aiza's voice echoed against the walls. Finally getting past the smell, Robin could see how small this room really was. It was cramped and the walls were covered in glowing blue slime, it was almost enough to make him want to puke.

Nala, seemingly oblivious to the rank stench, stepped forward as her golden eagle circled around the room twice, before returning to her shoulder. There was a tapping sound, shuffling, before the boss materialized from the walls, towering over the team. It let out a monstrous roar, blasting ice cold air on their sweaty faces, freezing them all in place.

"Exorcist! You challenge me? So be it, come here and let me eat you whole!" Its furry eight legs shuttered as it folded its webbed wings on its back. There was the screech of metal as Nala yanked her machete from its sheath on her back, lunging forward. Their footsteps were impossibly loud as Aiza followed behind her, holding her Glaive with two hands. The creature charged forward to meet them, swiping one of its legs at Aiza. Twisting her feet, the limb passed a breath away from her chest.

"Hafrat Akhdar!" The ground opened behind the boss as Robin slammed his hands on the ground, catching two of its back legs. It slipped backwards, trying to gain purchase. Seeing that she no longer held the creature's attention, Nala moved in close, slashing down on the leg closes to her. A noxious gas that burst from the wound made her gag as her eyes began to water, she stumbled, her limbs feeling stiff. The creature screeched as it fell on its back into the hole, jerking wildly as it tried to claw its way out.

"Saquiff Zhaakhii!" Ash ran forward, standing inches from where Nala froze, a transparent layer of film appeared over the top of the whole, cracking slowly as the boss tried to bang his way out. Pivoting quickly, he kneeled in front of Nala as she took deep breaths. Putting his hand on her back, he chanted for a basic spell against poison, hoping it would be enough.

"Don't get to close when attacking," She coughed deep in her chest, "that gas is strong." Standing up, Nala sheathed her blade, pulling a scroll from her bag.

"Slaasl Soodak," The scroll lit up silver, before massive chains broke out, plunging down the hole and binding the creature. "Ok, Aiza!"

"I know!" Aiza removed her own scroll, "Anifka!" The creature wailed, and exploded in a burst of bright red cubes. "Ha that was easy, I don't know…" Everyone froze as Aiza's eyes went wide.

She body shook as she looked down, a dark, gloved hand poked out of her chest. Ash resisted the urge to cover his ears as she let out a soul-shattering scream of agony, before bursting into millions of tiny white specks.

"Aiza!" A desperate scream tore from Ash as he took a step forward, but Nala gripped his arm and yanked him back and away from the cloaked man. The hooded figure clenched and relaxed his fist a few times, nodding when nothing seemed out of order. A small sob escaped Ash, drawing the attention of the man as the others attempted to recover from the shock of Aiza's death. It was so sudden, so undeserved.

"Well hello there Kenichi Yukimura, Ash Jenson, Nala Freeman." His voice was unexpectedly high, almost pretentious as he reached up and tugged the hood further over his head, the shadow covering his face. The three players stiffened at the mention of their real names, Robin almost didn't recognize the name his mother gave him. He hadn't been Kenichi in a long time. "No need to speak, I'm sure you're all very tired," he pressed on when no one interrupted him, "I just wanted to come by and personally congratulate you all for beating the first ten levels. Well done, you've managed to navigate my game much faster than I calculated." He sounded almost giddy about their success.

Ash swallowed thickly as the man spoke, it was painfully obvious who this man was, or at least represented. Yet, he couldn't speak or move. Here was the devil that trapped him in this hell, and yet he felt frozen in place. He attempted to move, but found his body unwilling to respond.

"Ah, ah, ah," the man waved his finger as if reprehending a naughty child, "Be a good boy and listen when your teacher is talking, Ash Jenson, or I just might keep you all frozen." So that was it, they were under some sort of spell. No doubt to keep them from attacking.

"You," Nala growled, fingers twitching as she tried to will herself to move through the spell. "You killed Aiza! What sort of congratulation was that!"

"Aiza? Oh yes, Maria Ortega, a rather bothersome player. Her parents credit cards were always denied." The man hummed lightly, "My, my, my. What a fine mix I have in front of me. Members of the Blood Knight Clan and the Suite Four Clan, how exciting. You're my best sellers you know," He turned to look at Nala, "You in particular bring in a hefty sum of bets every weak, many for your survival, although some bet against you."

"You sick bastard, I'm not a race horse!" Nala was shaking, but the tears in her eyes didn't fall.

"Really? Well, my apologies." He turned quickly, and started walking away.

"Wait!" Ash didn't know what possessed him to call out, it was against his nature to draw attention, but he felt himself stiffen as the man paused and looked back at him with slight interest. "Why?" He didn't need to explain further.

The man was silent, before a sick smile overtook his face as he turned and walked away.


	5. Sleep

There was a cold breeze blowing in from the window, the curtains fluttered slightly above the ground, but he didn't move from his spot on the bed. Spread out on the thick comforter, Patton kept his eyes closed; feeling goose bumps tingle on his arms and legs. He wasn't tired, just at peace. His eyebrow drew together, making a light crease on his forehead as he made a face of displeasure. It wasn't peace exactly, more like a twisted parallel to peace that calmed his heart beat and relaxed his ever tense muscles.

Sleep didn't quiet grab him, allowing his mind free roam to think, to think things he'd rather lock away. There was a clang on the ground, Patton's body jerked up, hands in front of him defensively as his wide eyes darted around the room. A picture frame lay face down on the wood floor, microscopic shards of glass sparkling under the light of the stars. Not bothering to avoid the hazard, Patton scooted himself out of bed, groaning at the popping of his joints with each step. As he scooped to pick up the frame he felt the shards of glass digging into his foot. Looking down, a dark pool of liquid was slowly creeping out from under his foot as he laid the empty frame back onto the table near the window. Sitting down inches from the mess, he grunted as he brought his foot closer to his chest, inspecting the damage in the dim light. The pale skin was an angry red as individual streams of blood slowly trailed down to his heel. With heavy eyes and slow breathing, Patton watched calmly as his foot started to glow before the shards of glass disappeared and his foot returned to its usually paleness as the wounds stitched themselves together.

He healed so much faster now; however the blood that ran down his heel did not disappear, but slowly dried and flaked as he sat there for what felt like eternity. Patton grabbed onto the bed, lazily pulling himself up and crawling under the covers. His mother would have scolded him for not cleaning up the drips of blood of the floor or the line on his foot before getting into his bed, but he shoved the thought away forcefully, pulling the covers up to his ears. The cold was enjoyable at first, but now it was almost painful, as he couldn't warm his hands or feet no matter how he positioned himself. Although, he instantly felt guilty for complaining, there were many in the games that were stuck in the standard housing provided by the game upon signing up. Patton had visited his own small apartment on the first floor, and it was dishearteningly basic, with no heating or cooling technology for the worst nights. Living in Robin's castle, they had fireplaces, air conditioning, and heating units; all Patton had to do was close his window and turn his on.

But in a twisted way, he couldn't bare to be confortable. The stinging cold provided a convenient distraction that turned his thoughts away from the demons in his mind. Every moment he spent thinking about how miserable he was physically, he didn't have to think about he mental seams that were slowly coming apart every day. There were moments when he was walking down the street, and he just wanted to fall to his knees and scream, but he didn't. So many had broken down all ready, and the Blood Knights, Suite Four, and Cursed Cards were beacons of hope in an otherwise pointless existence. The members were constantly watched and imitated, so he felt a lot of pressure to never show weakness.

Plus, out of everyone in the Blood Knights, he was by far the strongest fighter, they all acknowledged that. It wasn't just talent, he tended to take a lot of solo missions to bump up his level, sitting in the house all day planning just wasn't his style. When it came down to it, this place was hell, but it was also a game. Heck, the irony is that it isn't even his usual type of game. He much preferred FPS games, Hell Break was the first Nerve Gear game he'd ever plugged into, what luck. This game was much more Rain's forte. There was another breeze, but Patton barely felt it under the protection of the thick comforter. He was so warm, and his body felt so heavy as he finally drifted to sleep.

Feeling drawn back to consciousness by three sturdy knocks at his door, Patton groaned, keeping his eyes shut as he felt the rays of the morning sun on his face.

"What?" He growled, trying to will himself back to the thoughtless sleep he so enjoyed, but three more knocks, harder this time drew him further away. "The fuck do you want, Robin?" Only Robin was this early of a bastard in the morning.

"Kaisu's here, we're waiting for you downstairs so hurry up and get dressed." Robin called though the door, grinning slightly as he heard Robin curse before the soft thud of the covers hitting the floor hit his ears. Satisfied that Patton was up and making himself decent, he walked down the hallway into the dinning area. Sitting at the grandiose wood table, Kaisu stared curiously at the Blue Jay perched on his shoulder. Typically, the bird opted to make itself comfortable on his head. "Yo," Robin raised a hand in greeting, "Patton should be down in a minute, want anything while you wait? I'm making Natto."

Raising an eyebrow in surprise before a slight smile came over his face, "That'd be nice, I haven't had Natto in a long time." The American breakfast of pancakes and eggs Pheonix cooked was fun at first, but now he missed the foods of his home in Japan. Understanding the look on Kaisu's face, Robin felt sympathy wash over him. Kaisu and Robin were both from Japan, but being surrounded by Westerners had forced them to adapt to the culture rather quickly in order to fit in. Sure there were clans made up of people specifically from Japan, and it was rather large, but it wasn't something either of them were interested in.

Both turned to the entrance as Patton dragged himself into the room, hair still slightly messy, his Mohawk was almost non-existent. Convincing himself he'd cut it later, he yawned loudly as he pulled up a chair across from Kaisu.

"Well, it can't be good news if Panda sent you." Patton reached towards a bowl of fruit on the table, courtesy of Rain, and picked up a fat orange. Thrusting his thumb into the skin, juice dripped onto the wood as he peeled the skin back.

"I'm afraid not, Patton." Kaisu ignored the annoyed feeling in the back of his head as Patton made a giant mess of peeling and eating the orange, did he have to behave like a caveman?

"Alright, well then, out with it? What are we dealing with? Rare item? Next boss? Twinkie outage?" Snorting slightly, Patton leaned back in his chair, the slightly acidic flavor of the oranges lingering on his tongue.

"Murder." Kaisu saw Robin stiffen slightly as he walked back into the room with two bowls of Natto in his hand, topped with fruit, before placing one in front of Kaisu and taking his own seat.

"Murder? Like player on player murder?" Patton felt angered just by the thought. There was already so much death around them, and to go inflict it on someone else out of cold blood was unthinkable.

"Yes, the civilian players are all in a panic, and none the clans seem to know what to do." Patton cut Kaisu off, ignoring the glare and look of disapproval he got from the two guys in the room.

"What are the Cursed Cards doing? This sounds like something they'd jump on." Patton unconsciously cracked his knuckles. Even though he didn't like the Cursed Cards, they were closest thing this place had to a stable government. Kaisu swallowed a mouthful of natto before giving him an odd look.

"Haven't you heard? The Cursed Cards have been in shambles since the Suite Four left, they lost half their members within the week after, and more keep going. At this rate, I don't even think they have enough members to fill one of the floors of their base castle." Kaisu hoped Patton knew, and was just to tired to remember. The slow desent of the Cursed Cards was all anyone was talking about now.

"No shit? I had no idea." Wow, he seriously didn't know, and it didn't even seem like Patton cared. "So why is it my problem again, go have the East Wing Clan deal with it, they're all for dealing with the public and all that. The Blood Knights like to stay out of the spot light if we haven't already made that obvious enough."

"You've made that crystal clear, but here's the thing. No one cares, you guys are some of the best, people are going to want to follow you and that's that. This is a serious problem, and no one can get in touch with the Suite Four, so you're the only real option" Kaisu put the spoon down in his bowl and stood up, "Look, I've got to get back so are you going to deal with it or not?"

"No shit I'm going to do it," Patton scoffed, picking up the scraps from his orange and dumping them in the trash. He wanted to see the face of the bastard for himself, and wanted to get the story first hand. Kaisu nodded with a small, tired smile, but before he could leave, Patton called out to him, "I'm going to do it, but the other Blood Knights went on a three day quest this morning and won't be back until then."

"The trail will go cold by then," Kaisu hissed, slightly frustrated with the inconvenient absences.

"I know that! So tell Panda to send some of his guys to help Robin and me, ok? We can meet here this afternoon." Kaisu nodded at the request, and disappeared in a flash of bright light, most likely going to relay Patton's demand to Panda. Yawning loudly, Patton followed Robin to the backyard.

Not bothering to put on shoes, the grass was freezing against his bare toes, but he didn't mind the stinging tingle. Pulling his sweatshirt further down, Patton rubbed his hands together in frustration; he really needed to get some real gloves. Continuing down the stone path surrounding the glittering lake, Patton could see small blocks of ice floating in the light blue water, ripples gliding across the surface with each breeze. As they came to the end of the path, much sooner than they usually would if they were walking at a leisurely pace, they arrived at a medium sized cottage. Yanking the heavy wood door open, they rushed inside and started the fireplace, pausing to soak in the warmth of the flames. Waving his hand in front of his face, Robin frowned he pulled out old cotton blankets, sitting in front of the fire place with their own thoughts.

The cottage wasn't anything special, just a bonus feature of Robin's property that was rarely used until Reiss realized it warmed up much faster than any other part of the house, and it was just warmer in general since it was a smaller space. Since then Ash and Rain worked on decorating the small building, they weren't finished yet, but there was a couch and three chairs, along with a pool table and carpet. Patton felt that was enough, but Rain insisted that they should put some thing on the walls and get something to store food in so no one would have to make trips back and forth if they opted to spend the day in the cottage.

No matter how much he teased and tormented Rain, he still held her in high respect. After all, she was a female living with a ton of teenage guys, so that couldn't be easy. Patton knew that he left dishes in the sink and forgot to put the toilet seat down, both of which annoyed his mother, so he assumed it bothered Rain too. Often, he wondered how she coped being the only female. Although he didn't know much about her IRL, Patton knew she came from a huge family with sisters and brothers, so did she ever miss female companionship? Robin shifted over on the couch, flipping the page of his book. Maybe that's why she and Nala became fast friends, Patton mused, wrapping the blanket tighter around his body as he laid on his back on the carpet. He felt like he'd fall asleep if he sat in one of the chairs.

However, Rain didn't seem to get along with the girls in Dragon Hearth too well. Shiki, a member of the Dragon Hearth Clan and also Kaisu's girlfriend, was overly shy, which made her kind of boring in his eyes, but Rain just seemed indifferent towards her. They made small talk in the restaurants, but they never seemed to click the same way Rain and Nala had. The other female member of Dragon Hearth was way younger than Rain, but he was sure they didn't get along because Pheonix was a straight up spoiled brat.

There was a ping as Robin's menu lit up, the message icon blinking lazily. Grunting, he laid his book down, struggling to keep the blanket around his shoulders as he opened the message. A holograph of Ash appeared, his black hair soaking wet and driplets of water dropping down the sides of his calm face.

"Hey Robin, just checking in before we head off to the next floor for the next part of the quest. Its in a dungeon so we won't be able to receive or send messages for a few days so don't panic if you don't hear from us, it should only takes us three days to finish this," The holograph looked at something they couldn't see, "Reiss don't do that," it frowned, and someone laughed off screen as Ash's holographic recording sighed. "We'll see you soon, try to keep Patton out of trouble." It vanished as Patton snorted.

"Keep me out of trouble, huh?" Patton closed his eyes again, enjoying the warmth from the flames.

"You do have a tendency to run off and cause problems with others." Robin smirked a bit as he picked his book back up and returned to his page, Lord of the Flies was such an old book, but Robin had come to find a morbid connection with the trapped students.

"Yeah, but I also find our best allies that way, so suck it. My methods work." Patton ignored Robin's laugh as he drifted into sleep, thoughts finally silent.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**This chapter is a bit short, but I wanted to do a chapter that helps expand on the character's personality a bit more. Did this chapter help you understand who Patton was as a person? What do you think of him now? If this helps establish the character, I may do one for all of the main characters. **

**Thank you**.


End file.
